


Chin Up, Princess

by frankcastlesfemfeb (Deathtouch)



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Young Avengers
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Dubious Consent, F/F, Flashbacks, Hugging, Kissing, Love, Sad Ending, Sneaking Around, embracing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 08:03:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5198372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deathtouch/pseuds/frankcastlesfemfeb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Femfeb 2014 | Fanfic<br/><i>nonsonoleiarchive asked:</i> femslash february prompts: kate bishop is forced by her father into an arranged marriage. kate and america meetup one last time (in a hotel room) before her wedding night. they commiserate, and reminisce over what they've had. and the night ends with america calling kate 'princess', which causes kate to shatter into a million little pieces</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chin Up, Princess

**Author's Note:**

> unbeta'd! all mistakes are my own.

“He got away.” Kate dropped her bow, an arrow still nocked but she eased off on the tension of the string.   
  
She turned on her heels, her mouth hanging open, staring at the rest of the Young Avengers behind her. All of them were half bent or panting, struggling to regain their breath.  
  
“Are you kidding me? Am I the only one seeing this?” Kate expected some reaction, some reply, _something_. They were all too worn down to care.  
  
“He got away. Again.” She emphasized, and she would have shouted it at the top of her lungs to make them react, but she was starting to feel as hopeless as the rest of them looked.   
  
Kate wanted to throw down her bow and put her head in her hands. She wanted to sit down right there on the ground and never get up. They were never going to catch this damn Patriot imposter  
  
“Hey,” America reached out for Kate’s chin, tipping it up with her finger. “Chin up, princess. We’ll find him.”  
  
Kate looked America square in the eyes and swallowed her hopelessness.   
  


* * *

  
America smelled like cloves, like dark spices and mulled wine. Her body ran hot, and her skin was always perfectly warm. Her arms were strong, and they found their home wrapped around Kate’s slim shoulders. 

  
Kate pressed her face into the soft skin of America’s neck, hiding there.   
  
She wasn’t going to cry. She promised herself she wasn’t going to cry.  
  


* * *

  
Kate had never really looked at another girl naked before.   
  
She’d been in changing rooms, and locker rooms, and seen classmates and team mates in bras and panties but this was different. She hadn’t been interested in them the way she was interested in America. She had never looked at a pair of tits and thought ‘wow, yes, I want to put my mouth on those’ before.  
  
America was shirtless, dangling her bra by one finger. She had stripped off her clothes, and Kate was about to strip off her own, and neither of them were really sure what would happen next but it was bound to be exciting, and fun.  
  
“Hey. Chin up, princess.” America smirked. “My eyes are up here.”  
  


* * *

  
America didn’t say anything. She held on to Kate for dear life. They clutched at one another, desperate to stay grounded in the moment. They were a life line for one another. If on of them let go now, they had no idea where they would end up, or what would become of either of them.  
  
America had brought booze with her. 80 proof vodka and nothing to chase it with. Something to erase all the worries from their minds, and all the heartbreak from the chests. It didn’t matter now, the bottle sat on the bare desk against the wall. The seal wasn’t even broken.   
  
Neither of them wanted to pull away from one another for the amount of time it took to take a swig.  
  
Neither of them wanted to forget this night. Especially if it was the last one they ever had together.  
  


* * *

  
“Is he serious?” America asked, and she may have been smiling, but that was just because the situation was so weird she didn’t even know what else kind of face to make.  
  
“Yeah.” Kate lay back on the grass, crossing her arms behind her head.  
  
She used to hate coming to Central Park. Just thinking about this damn place and what had happened to her here made her sick. America was here with her though, and that meant she would be safe.  
  
America’s eyebrows furrowed. “He can’t force you to get married if you don’t want to.” She was pretty sure that was illegal, or at the very least highly unethical.   
  
“You don’t know what it’s like.” Kate muttered, clearly done with the conversation. She was sorry she brought it up, it was dragging down her mood.   
  
“Hey chin up, princess.” America leaned over her, planting a kiss on her lips. Her long curly hair tickled over Kate’s face, making Kate smile. “Maybe your husband will be into threesomes.”   
  


* * *

  
Kate wished she was someone different.  
  
She wished she could run away with America, and spend the rest of her days ripping through the multiverse doing whatever she wanted whenever she wanted to. She had asked America again, and again, and again to take her away. Take her somewhere else, and never look back. They both knew it didn’t work like that. Being on the run was impractical, and Kate couldn’t <i>really</i> leave home.   
  
She wished she could though. She wished she was someone else. She wished her whole wedding away. She wished away her father. She wished away her fiancé.   
  
She wished away everything that wasn’t America.  
  


* * *

  
“Chin up.” America said.  
  
She had Kate’s wrists pinned to the mattress above her head.  
  
“Princess.” Kate added, quickly.  
  
America gave her a look.   
  
“You always say ‘princess’ after you say that. Say princess.”  
  
America gave Kate’s wrists a squeeze, and Kate squeaked in shy delight. America was never usually this rough with her, and she liked it. A lot.   
  
“Who’s the one giving orders here?” America asked.  
  
“…you.” Kate smiled sheepishly.   
  
“That’s right. So chin up.” America said again.   
  
Kate hesitated, waiting for that magic word, but even when it didn’t come she lifted her head allowing access to the curve of her throat and the gentle slope of her neck where it met her shoulder.  
  
“Thank you, princess.” America purred before ducking in and using her teeth on the soft, sensitive skin of Kate’s neck.  
  
Kate groaned, and twisted in America’s grip, but America kept her perfectly in place with her wrists still very much pinned to the mattress.  
  


* * *

  
“I hate him.” Kate whispered, and it was the first thing she’d said all night.   
  
They’d just been holding each other thus far. America had knocked on the hotel room door, and the minute Kate opened it she latched on and wouldn’t let go. They stood in the door way, locked up in an embrace, and then eventually America carried her to bed. They hauled the covers up over their heads and wrapped their arms around each other’s bodies and hadn’t moved since. Couldn’t pull away.    
  
“He doesn’t hold me. He doesn’t make me feel safe. I don’t want to be with him.”  
  
America’s heart hurt just hearing the confession.   
  


* * *

  
“We can’t do this anymore.” Kate whispered. She was bare foot but that didn’t seem to bother her as she hurried off the front stoop and onto the sidewalk. She grabbed America by the arm and tugged her away from the house. Her new house. Her fancy uptown three story that she shared with her new fiancé.   
  
“Sure we can.” Kate smirked. “We just gotta keep quiet about it.”  
  
Kate gave her a look. A worried look. “If he catches us…”  
  
“He’s not going to catch us.” America promised, stealing a kiss.  
  
Kate let it happen, but dropped her head and glanced away, hoping America wouldn’t do it again. As much as she loved America’s kisses, she was nervous. Anyone could be watching them.  
  
“Hey, chin up princess.” America told her, waiting for Kate to lift her head. “Sneaking around will make things more exciting for us, if nothing else.” She offered a wink to strengthen her argument.  
  
Kate couldn’t help herself if she cracked a tiny smile. She hoped that was true, because she couldn’t just give up America and never see her again. There was no way that was ever going to happen.  
  


* * *

  
“The sun’s coming up.” America whispered.  
  
They had held each other all night long. Even when their limbs tingled and fell asleep. They didn’t move. They didn’t do anything. They didn’t need to do anything. All they needed was one more night together, and that was what they got. One more night. One more night inhaling America’s scent. One more night feeling her curly hair tickle over Kate’s skin. One more night being safe, and secure in her arms.  
  
“I don’t want you to go.” Kate whispered back.  
  
“I know,” America didn’t move. She didn’t want to go either. “But, I don’t want you to get in trouble.”  
  
Not again. Neither of them had to say anything out loud. The memories of shock and shame from the night they were found out penetrated into their safe embrace. Kate curled in on herself, hiding her face again. She hated this. She hated remembering that night. She hated that she would probably never see America again after her wedding.   
  
America sat up. Beams of light filtered in through the shades drawn across the hotel window. “Chin up, princess…” She said.  
  
Usually she had something helpful to follow it. Something that made Kate smile, or feel good again. Except America didn’t say anything.   
  
What was there to say?   
  
“I’ll try.” Kate whispered, but she wasn’t sure if she had anything, or anyone left to keep her chin up for anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!   
> feel free to comment here or chat me up on tumblr http://frankcastles.tumblr.com/ask  
> if you have any marvel femslash suggestions, please keep me in mind next february! :)


End file.
